Career opportunities in Gemology

Career Opportunities

Since time immemorial gems have remained “neighbor’s envy and owner’s pride”. The ornaments have been exotic, unequalled and invaluable articles of personal glory. They are considered symbols of wealth, talismans, adornments of gods, kings and the rich. They have also been revered for their magical powers as well. There are very few substances which pack so much value in such little sizes. And, with changing fashion and taste, men and women today, are steadily moving away from conventional styles of adornment and ornamentation and gradually adopting modern patterns better suited to their busy life styles.

To be eligible for admission into a Gemology course, you must have completed 10+2 (any stream) or graduation. The duration of the courses vary but they are of short terms. A good command over English is a must if you want to progress in this field because not only it gives an edge during communication with customers but also, best of the books on the subject are in English.

Gemology course mainly consists of gem’s identification and colouring, metal concepts drawing techniques, metallurgical processes, elements of fashion, design methodology, computer aided designing, ornament designing, ornament making and traditional and modern processes with specialization in jewellery designing. Gemologists identify, sort and grade gemstones in order to advise jewellers/ jewellery designs regarding various properties of gems and the suitability of particular gemstones in different metals and settings. Thus, the functions of a Gemologist include identification, measurement of weights, establishment of size and all other such aspects of various precious stones. You can specialize as a gem grinder, gem polisher, gem assorter, engraver, jewellery setter, researcher and scientist. You can also be involved in teaching and training people with relevant qualification and adequate experience.

Students are taught on the various aspects of the stones that include:

Identification and coloring of stones, i.e. sorting and grading of stones.
Occurrence of the stones
Physical properties of the stones
Optical properties of the stones
Identification of naturally occurring gems
Design methodology
Metal concepts drawing techniques
Ornament designing, computer aided designing
Metallurgical process
Ornament making in both traditional and modern techniques

Job Opportunities:

Job openings have shown an increase with entry of branded jewelry and increased interest in newer and westernized styles. Self-employed jewelry designers can carve a niche for themselves provided they could satisfy market needs and continue to be creative at the same time. Within manufacturing, increasing automation will take some time to adversely affect employment of low-skilled occupations, such as assembler and polisher when replacement benefits and costs outweigh the productivity of manpower. Automation will have a lesser impact on more creative, highly skilled positions, such as mould and model maker.

National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) has following branches :-
(a) NIFT Campus, near Gulmohar Park, Hauz Khas, New Delhi.
(b) Tata Mills, Parel, Mumbai (Maharashtra).
(c) Sector III, Salt Lake City, Kolkata (West Bengal).
(d) GIDC Electronic Estate, Gandhinagar (Gujarat).
(e) Chenatha Bhavan, Nampally, Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh)
(f) Co-optex Building, Egmore, Chennai (Tamil Nadu).